Leonard Matlovich, a U.S. Air Force sergeant, was awarded the Purple Heart for service in Vietnam, but discharged soon after telling his captain he was gay and appearing in uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the words, "I Am a Homosexual" emblazoned next to him. While he may have "settled" in his fight against the Air Force, he was a pioneer in the fight for gay and lesbian rights in the military.

Aloni has spent her life challenging what she views as the “retreat from the secular liberal ideals envisioned by Israel’s founders.” As a teacher, lawyer, member of parliament, as well as resistance movements, and lecturer, she has become one of Israel’s best-known champions of human and civil rights.

Ela Bhatt was a pioneer in women’s empowerment and grassroots development. In addition to establishing the Self-Employed Women’s Association in India, Bhatt also founded India’s first women’s bank, Cooperative Bank of SEWA, and served as a member of the Parliament of India from 1986 to1989.

In this chapter, Carnes details oppression experienced by the early New England colonists. In particular, he chronicles Mary Dyer’s path from a once uncomfortably conforming Puritan to an outspoken Quaker unshaken by threats, banishment and even death.

In this poem, the speaker traces the senseless killings taking place abroad and at home, with a particular focus on the African-American community. The speaker also calls communities to action to "grow our hope and heal our hearts" in order to live together in peace.